Unanderra railway station

Unanderra
NSW TrainLink intercity train station ← Coniston · Kembla Grange or Summit Tank →
Location	Central Road, Unanderra New South Wales Australia
Coordinates	34°27′17″S 150°50′45″E / 34.4548°S 150.8459°E / -34.4548; 150.8459Coordinates: 34°27′17″S 150°50′45″E / 34.4548°S 150.8459°E / -34.4548; 150.8459
Owned by	RailCorp
Operated by	NSW TrainLink
Line(s)	South Coast Unanderra–Moss Vale Maldon–Dombarton (proposed)
Distance	88.273 km from Central[1]
Platforms	2 (island), 132 and 139 metres[1]
Train operators	NSW TrainLink
Bus operators	Premier Illawarra
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Parking	Yes
Disabled access	Not accessible
Other information
Website	Sydney Trains
History
Opened	9 November 1887[2]
Electrified	24 January 1993[3]
Traffic
Passengers (2014)	140,777[4]
Rank	186th of 307[3]

Unanderra is an intercity train station located in Unanderra, New South Wales, Australia, on the South Coast railway line. The station serves NSW TrainLink trains travelling south to Kiama and north to Wollongong and Sydney.^[5] Premier Illawarra operates connecting bus services from the station to Dapto, Horsley, Kembla Heights and Wollongong.

The first railway in the district was a privately operated track between Mount Kembla and Port Kembla, opened in 1882 to bring coal to port. In 1912, the NSW Government Railways assumed control of the line east of Unanderra. The government railway from Clifton to North Kiama opened in 1887 and included a single-platform Unanderra Station complete with weatherboard platform building and stationmaster's residence.^[6]

Premier George Fuller turned the first sod for the Illawarra Mountain Railway – now known as the Unanderra–Moss Vale line – at Unanderra on 26 June 1925. Fuller, whose family owned much of the Shellharbour district (indeed, Dunmore was named for his father's birthplace), took a keen interest in the development of the railways in his native Illawarra region. Despite costs doubling to £3 million, the line opened in August 1932, channelling freight traffic from the Southern Tablelands and Riverina regions through Unanderra and on to Port Kembla. To accommodate the increased traffic, the line was expanded to three tracks through the town, and the station became an island platform.^[7] As a result of the junction, unlike other stations in NSW, Sydney-bound trains use platform 2, while southbound trains use platform 1.

Between 1983 and 1988, electrical masts were installed along a section of the Moss Vale line near Unanderra in preparation for the subsequently cancelled Maldon–Dombarton rail link. Passenger services to the Southern Highlands ceased in 1991 and the line through Unanderra was electrified in 1993.

In 2009, the NSW Government announced that it would install lifts at Unanderra Station at a cost of $11.4 million. The project stalled the following year after it was discovered that the plans had been approved without a proper utilities search at the site: water, gas and signal cables would need to be relocated to accommodate the lift shafts, at an additional cost of $5 million. By that stage, the platform building had been replaced and the platforms resurfaced. Following a change of government in 2011, the project was cancelled in favour of accessibility projects at Albion Park, Dapto and Gerringong; and a new station at Flinders. In response to criticism from the Opposition, the new transport minister simply noted that "unfortunately, commitments made by Labor when in government did not come to fruition."^[8] The absence of a lift has received significant local media coverage since that time.

Electronic ticketing, in the form of the Opal smartcard system, arrived at the station in 2014.^[9]

Platforms & Services

References

External links

• Media related to Unanderra railway station at Wikimedia Commons
• Unanderra station details Sydney Trains